UN official says Chile should stop using anti-terrorism law against Mapuche in land dispute

SANTIAGO, Chile – The U.N. special investigator on human rights and counter-terrorism is asking Chile to stop using an anti-terrorism law against the Mapuche Indians.

Ben Emmerson says the situation is "volatile" in the southern regions of Araucania and Bio Bio, where most Mapuche live. He warns of the danger of conflict there over Mapuche demands for the return of ancestral lands.

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Emmerson says Chile's government should come up with a strategy to solve the dispute, speed up the return of land and recognize the country's largest indigenous community under the constitution.

He also says Chile must put an end to violent abuses by police against the Mapuche.

The U.N. official spoke Tuesday at the close of a two-week visit to Chile.